Easy Rider II: Southern Tier; Day 55, 5/16/22

 

And 3,062.3 miles later, my San Diego-to-Florida adventure is a wrap.

I rolled into St. Augustine this afternoon, with a surprisingly large amount of energy to spare.

It was hot and humid today, but the riding was sweet because  most of it was on flat, shaded bike paths.

I scored big time by booking the Best Western Bayfront as my  hotel for tonight. It’s in St. Augustine’s Old Town district, right across the road from the historic fort and the water.

Tonight I’ll get a nice dinner in Old Town somewhere. And then tomorrow, I’ll pedal 57 miles north to Jacksonville FL to catch the 11 p.m. Amtrak train home to northern Virginia.

I’m glad I was able to complete the route but also a wee bit sad that it is over.

While on this tour for the past two months, I woke up each morning looking forward, usually with some apprehension, to what each new day would bring. Parts of the tour were a real struggle. But the headwinds, flat tires, dog pursuits and weather extremes just added to the experience and made the tailwinds and the many random meetings with so many kind and generous people all the more delightful. It truly was a glorious new adventure every day. 

Eat, sleep, ride!

DM: 87.2; TM: 3,062.3; 8:30 hrs rdg; 10.2 mph avg; 769 ft climbing

Seafood pasta, very nice

Easy Rider II: Southern Tier, Day 54, 5/15/22

 

The path less traveled

If I’d been five minutes later getting to my Gainesville FL hotel this afternoon, I’d have been one water-logged hombre. Because shortly after I finished registering, a thunderstorm started dumping prodigious quantities of rain.

It was raining so hard that I decided against walking to the nearest restaurant, which was a couple hundred yards away. Instead, I made do with a freeze-dried camping dinner that I had been saving for an emergency.

Today I got off Hwy 90 and back on the backroads route recommended by the Adventure Cycling Association. It was nice not to have to worry about the traffic for a change, and the scenery and road conditions were fantastic.

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My Gainesville hotel—the Comfort Suites—is one of the nicer and newer ones I’ve stayed in—and it cost $120, less than some of the total dumps I’ve survived during this tour.

The hotel is a bit off the beaten track, however. And the complimentary breakfast was not-so-great. In fact, the scrambled eggs were still frozen inside. I spit mine into a napkin, then noticed another guest following suit.

Interesting clientele, too.

One of my fellow senior-citizen guests and his silver-haired female companion, who appeared to be taking turns pushing each other around the hotel in a wheelchair, accosted me at the doors of the elevator as I was bringing my bike up to my room. “Hey, I thought you were dead,” the man said to me. “Can I get your autograph?” Spooky. Thank goodness there was no room for them in the elevator. I breathed a sigh of relief when the elevator doors closed.

It’s 77 miles to St. Augustine. So I’ll be heading there tomorrow. The following day, I’ll be pedaling north to Jacksonville, where I’ve arranged to take the Amtrak train home to northern Virginia.

On this particular line, the Silver Star, for $20 extra, cyclists can reserve a spot to walk their bikes onto the train without having to disassemble and box them. 

DM: 81.6; TM: 2,975.1; 7:51 rdg time; 10.4 mph avg; 1,496 ft climbing

Water moccasin

Storm approaching

Easy Rider II: Southern Tier, Day 53, 5/14/22

 

Crushing it today

Knowing I had a big day ahead, I departed Tallahassee at dawn this morning.

But with favorable road conditions—and no headwinds for the first time in a couple of weeks—I rode the 86.8 miles to Live Oak in just over eight hours, which is pretty fast for me.

The nicest town I passed through today was Monticello, which has some beautiful houses along Hwy 90.

The scariest town was Live Oak, where the downtown motels appear to have morphed into crack houses.

My Live Oak motel—the EconoLodge—is across from Walmart in the northern part of town. The motel clerk assured me that the lodge, though a wee bit rundown and shabby, is quiet, and that I should be able to get a good night’s sleep here.

Quote of the tour thus far came from the clerk at the Family Dollar store in the tiny town of Lee today.

She said a man once sold produce by the highway out in front of the store. “It seemed like a great idea until the logging truck hit him,” she said.

DM: 86.8; TM: 2,893.5; 8:09 hrs rdg; 10.6 mph avg spd; 2,040 ft climbing

Dawn start

Monticello FL

Great shoulder

Suwannee River

Live Oak complex

Live Oak EconoLodge

Easy Rider II: Southern Tier, Day 52, 5/13/22

 

The barber shop

Seems like I made the right decision to take a rest day in Tallahassee today, because the National Weather Service just issued a “take cover” storm warning for Live Oak, where I was planning to go.

“Wind gusts of up to 45 mph, pea size hail, and minor flooding due to heavy rainfall… could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects,” the NWS warning said. “If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.”

Thankful to be inside a building here—and a very nice one at that—already.

Seems like I needed a rest day anyway. All I did was get a haircut, study my Spanish, hand wash some clothes, visit the nearby Walmart, and take several naps.

Forecast looks good now for the next couple of days.

One of the things I really liked about the Hampton Inn is they had complimentary bowls of fruit—bananas, oranges and grapefruit—in the lobby, 24/7. Nice touch.

The new look

Hotel neighborhood

Nap central

Easy Rider II, Day 51, Southern Tier, 5/12/22

 

Apalachicola River

It looks like I won’t know what I’m doing tomorrow until early tomorrow morning, unfortunately.

That’s the case because the forecast is for possible thunderstorms  and showers.

If it still looks like rain when I wake up at 5 am, I’ll take a rest day here. If the prospects for rain fade, I’ll ride 84 miles to Live Oak.

After that, I believe it’s two days to St. Augustine.

For much of today, I followed the Adventure Cycling Association’s route through Chattahooche and then on through a series of small towns to Tallahassee.

There were lots of hills today, with 2,581 ft of climbing.

I particularly enjoyed Tallahassee’s bike path, which I rode across the city.

I’m finally back on ET. The time zone changed when I crossed the Apalachicola River.

Thank goodness I had earplugs last night. Because there was a loud party just outside my room.

The lesson I learned is to avoid motel rooms that are close to the stairs, because that’s where the partygoers sit to drink their beers and smoke their cigarettes.

DM: 73.1; TM: 2,806.7; 7:34 hrs rdg; 9.6 mph avg; 2,581 ft climbing

Party outside my room last night

Tallahassee bike path

Tallahassee

Hampton Inn

Easy Rider II, Day 50, 5/11/2022

 

I was riding on Hwy 90 again today, and it was very pleasant and lightly trafficked until I reached Marianna FL, my home for the night.

Sadly, in town the highway’s shoulder disappeared and the last four miles of riding to my hotel were highly unpleasant, to say the least.

Hopefully, the shoulder will reappear on 90 east of town when I head that way in the morning. Or I will need to backtrack several miles to get on the Adventure Cycling Association’s bypass to the north of 90.

Today’s ride started with a pleasant lap around Lake DeFuniak, which is surrounded by Victorian-style houses.

I stopped for lunch at the Holiday restaurant in Bonifay, where the owner told me her 92-year-old mother is still working in the kitchen and baking the pies.

My hotel for tonight—the Baymont by Wyndham at Marianna—will be worth every penny of the $63.12 I am paying for it, if it doesn’t get rowdy and I get a good sleep.

DM: 64.3; TM: 2,733.6; 6:40 riding; 9.6 mph avg; 1,529 ft climbing

DeFuniak Springs Lake

Luncheon special

Baymont by Wyndham

Easy Rider II, Day 49, May 10, 2022

 

Hwy 90

While I was taking a snack break in Crestview FL today, an older woman (though possibly 10 years my junior:), said seeing me on the bike made her tired. “I don’t see how you do it,” she said.

The truth is, I don’t understand, and can’t really explain, how anybody can pedal a bike all day every day for days and days without a break either.

It helps not to think about it, to just go.

I also know I have had to train for it, working my way up slowly but surely from 40 to 50 to 60-miles-plus-per day.

The other thing I know is I don’t feel like I can do it without eating a lot of good food and getting at least 8-10 hours of deep sleep every night.

On the topic of food, check the photo below of what I bought at the Walmart down the block from my DeFuniak Springs hotel tonight. I am saving the fruit for tomorrow but I consumed most of the rest, including the full quart of chocolate milk, for dinner.

Today’s ride, 60 miles on the shoulder of Hwy 90, was not particularly scenic. But I’m in “get’er done” mode now, so was not super disappointed.

I even cut about 5-10 miles off today’s ride by taking Hwy 90 directly east out of Milton instead of following the longer scenic route suggested in the Adventure Cycling Association’s  map (see below).

The owner of the Milton hotel I stayed in last night told me that many of the westbound riders who have stayed at his motel have said the scenic route wasn’t interesting enough to merit the extra effort.

DM: 61.4; TM: 2,669.3; 6:11 hrs rdg; 9.3 mph avg spd; 1,197 ft climbing

Shortcut out of Milton

Hwy 90

Frontage brick road

Chameleon, I think

Dinner of champions